#lomellini

“Link?”

“It’s from the novel.”

The teasing:

.

.

They voted for each other:

.

Best friends praying together:

All of the above:

The intimate knowledge of how the other functions:

Honest to God goodnight kisses

lomeli just. have a lot of admiration for aldo and i think its because lomeli compares himself a lot to him. i always think about that scene where he wanted to reach out but stopped himself because he thought aldo was in "communion" with god. and that's the main thing lomeli admires about him. he's above the common folk, almost untouchable, perfectly able to reach god. lomeli even described him as lofty and above gossip and intrigue.

when he was younger, lomeli probably thought the same of himself (ie the lonely untouchable hero above the common rung) but because of his cancer scare he had faltered. not aldo though. aldo remained the same all throughout the time lomeli knew him.

there's something to be said about how lomeli has this idealized version of aldo in his head. like how to lomeli, aldo is completely able to shut out the world to concentrate on his connection with god. compared to lomeli who, in that one scene in the book, seems to be hyper-aware of his surroundings and easily distracted by it. he even hates himself for it. it's just. really sad and also hilarious when aldo was walking up to casa santa marta for the conclave and lomeli described him as "bowing his head in meditation" and seems to be unaware of his surroundings. meanwhile, you learn the man is distraught, almost panicking at the thought of becoming pope. hardly what you call "meditation". aldo can shut out the rest of the world, true but he cant shut out his own mind.

here's the thing. if lawrellini are always that affectionate, why is lawrence/lomeli surprised? there are other hints of less-than-bff:

"Suddenly Bellini’s eyes filled with tears. He had a reputation for coldness— the aloof and bloodless intellectual. Lomeli had never seen him show emotion. It shocked him."

okay clearly there are emotional boundaries that have never been crossed. but this makes the Kiss so interesting. why this gesture out of the blue? later bellini says:

"In the first ballot I voted for Vandroogenbroek—the greatest theologian of the age, in my opinion—even though of course he never stood a chance. In the last four ballots, Jacopo, I have voted for you.”

when did he decide this? well. it's night 1 of conclave and after weeks of his name being tossed around, things look uncertain. he says: "If that is the case—and I pray that it is—I can only hope that it passes to you." he says: "Who knows where we’ll be this time tomorrow?"

i can only conclude that he's thinking about his intention to vote for lawrence, and it's a joyful thought, to be absolutely sure about someone, when you've become so cynical about the church as a whole. but he doesn't tell lawrence this. he gives him a kiss on both cheeks as a gesture of faith.

Thomas Lawrence/Aldo Bellini (& unrequited Tedesco/Lawrence), 2k words, rated T